Asphalt finisher and spreader



Marc-1123, 1943. w, H EWIS 2,314,358

ASPHALT FINISHER AND SPREADER Filed June 17, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ]T' NINVENTOR. N. N 'W H. Lewis ATTRNEK.

March 23, 1343. I w. H. LEWIS 2,314,358

ASPHALT FINISHER AND SPREADER Filed June 17, 1959 4-Sh eets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 23, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT'OFFICE 2,314,358 ASPHALTFINISHER AND SPREADER William Hurst Lewis, Los Angeles, Calif.Application June 17, 1939, Serial No. 279,684

27 Claims.

My invention relates to road and similar machinery, and particularly tospreaders and finishers for asphalt, and the like.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a machineof this class in which a series of grader plates are employed, and whichmay be adjusted relative to each other to give the desired camber orcrown to road material to be assumed by the finished road, and a machineof this class in which the grader plates, which have been so adjusted,may be raised or lowered as a unit or units to finish the several layersof road material, comprising the completed road. to such camber orcrown.

Another object of this invention is to provide novel, simple, andefficient means for adjusting several grader plates to said positionrelative to each other, and to raise, to various levels, the graderplates which have been so adjusted, and further to provide a simplestructure whereby all of the grader plates may be easily raised out ofthe way so that the machine may be readily transported from place toplace.

Another very important object of this invention is to provide a concavegrader plate whereby, as the machine is moved along the road bed, theexcess asphalt removed from the surface is rolled over in such a mannerthat large stones do not remain on top but are mixed with the othermaterial, and also so that no asphalt will remain at the top long enoughto get cold and unsuitable for further use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel and simplemeans for either adjusting the curved grader plate vertically, oradjusting the same in alinement with the curvature at the front side ofsaid plate.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a novel andsimple means for agitating or mixing, and raking the asphalt, and thelike, in front of grader plates so as to facilitate the gradingoperation, and further to provide such agitating or mixing and rakingmeans between forward and following grader plates.

An object also of this invention is to provide novel means of operatingthe agitating and raking means forwardly and backwardly, independentlyof the movement of the machine, and in such a manner that the sameelfectiveness is provided irrespective of the vertical position oradjustment of the agitators.

Still another object of this invention is to provide novel means ofsynchronously operating the grader plates with the agitating and rakingmeans, or operatingone of them with or by the other.

With these and other objects in view as will appear hereinafter, I havedevised a novel machine for spreading road or other material, and forfinishing the surfaces thereof, as will be hereinafter described indetail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters ofreferences thereon, which form a part of this application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of an asphalt spreader and finisher,embodying various features of my invention in their preferred form;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Figs. 3 and 4 are, respectively, rear and front elevations of theportion at one side of the longitudinal median line of my machine, theviews being taken, respectively, at 33 and 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional elevation taken through 5-5 of Fig. 1,showing the supporting, guiding, and raising means for the gradingmechanism;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional elevation thereof, taken through 6 -6 ofFig. 1, showing the individual raising means for the grader plates;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged sectional elevation showing the movable mountingof the grader plate on the main supporting beam;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged rear elevation of one lateral portion of mymachine, showing a slightly modified construction of the supporting andadjusting means of the grader plate;

Figs. 9 and 10 are transverse sections taken, respectively, through 99and Ill-I0 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged transverse section taken through ll-ll of Fig. 1,showing the construction, mounting, and operating mechanism of theagitating and raking means;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the agitating and rakingmeans, taken through Fig. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view,showing the mounting of one of the flange or guide wheels for thetraction wheels;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary plan view of my machine in a slightly modifiedform of construction; and,

Fig. 15 is an enlarged transverse sectional elevation taken through Il-l4 of Fig. 14.

In the construction of roads, made of concrete, asphalt, or the like,the boad bed A, as shown in Fig, 1, is lined or limited at the oppositesides by header boards B, which determine the top or road surface. If asecond or subsequent strip of road is made, the completed portion mayprovide the form or liner for one side of the strip While a header boardmay be provided at the other side. My material spreader and finishingmachine, when used for road construction, is designed to rest and to runupon the headers or the finished road surface.

My machine, as illustrated in the drawings, is carried on a carriage Ihaving a plurality of supporting wheels 2 at the opposite sides, whichwheels support the machine on the header boards. The machine ispropelled by power units 3 which operates a shaft 6 through gears 4 and5. On the shaft 6 is a sprocket! which drivesv sprockets 8 and 9 througha chain lb. The sprockets 8 and 9 are coaxial with and drive two of thewheel at one side of the carriage. A sprocket II is connected to and iscoaxial with the sprocket 9, and drives, through a chain I3, thesprocket I2 which is mounted on another wheel.

The power unit is preferably arranged at one side of the carriage sothat the latter may be readily enlarged or extended laterally.

At the four corners of the carriage are float ing U-shaped frames 2|,the legs 2| of which are of T-shaped cross-section and are verticallyslidable in T-slots at the front sides of trans:- verse frame members ofthe carriage I. The cross portions of said U-shaped frames form skidrails 2| in line with the wheels at the opposite sides of the carriage.These skid rails are positioned respectively in front of the frontwheels and behind the rear wheels. ing frames 2| support the wholegrader plate mechanism on the header boards, and thus provide secondarycarriages or a secondary carriage means for the grader plate mechanism,as will be described hereafter.

On the forward and rear portions of the carriage are transverse rockshafts 22 which may be manually rotated by levers 23. These shafts havearms 24 at their opposite ends, and the ends of the arms 24 areconnected to the median portions of the skid rails by flexibleconnectors, such as chains 25. Thus, the skid plates, and therefore thegrader plate mechanism, may be raised freeof the header plates or boardsand the whole grader plate mechanism, is borne by the wheels so that thewhole machine may be readily conveyed from place to place.

The wheels 2 arenot equipped with flanges to guide the wheels, but Ihave provided separate flange means for this purpose, which consists ofa flange wheel at each corner of the carriage I. But these flange wheelsare preferably carried by the frames 2|.

On each frame 2| of the secondary carriage means is provided a tubularvertical guide I6 of preferably rectangular cross-section, one beinglocated in front of each of the front supporting wheels 2, and anotherbehind each of the rear wheels 2. In each of these tubular guides isslidably mounted a long slide I1 which is held in a vertically adjustedposition by any suitable means, such as set screws I8. At the outer sideof the lower end of each slide is a wheel I9. These wheels serve asguide flanges for the supporting or traction wheels, for guiding thewheels with respect to the header boards. These flanges wheels arespaced slightly from the inner sides of the wheels, and are mountednormally to assumepositions about one inch below the top of the headerboards.

These float- Thus the wheels are mounted so as to be raised clear of theheader boards by the frame 2| when the skid rails 2| are raised free ofthe same header boards.

It will be here particularly noted that the long vertical slides may beadjusted a considerable distance vertically so that the flange or guidewheels I9 may be manually and separately lowered into guiding positionwhen the frames 2|, and consequently the grader plates 4| hereinafter tobe described, are raised.

The guide wheels I9 and skid rails 2| are also adjustable relative toeach other, by reason of the set screws I8, so that they may be shiftedout of alignment.

On each of the skid rails is reciprocally mounted a skid shoe 3|, theseshoes being movable transversely with respect to the longitudinal extentof the machine. These shoes consist of plates which are retained inposition against the upper faces of the rails and guided thereon bymeans of clips 32. These skid shoes are provided with upwardly extendingguide rods 33 on which are slidably mounted, in a vertical direction,the end portions of the grader plate supporting beam 34, there beingprovided one supporting beam at the front and one at the rear portionsof the machine, one skid shoe being provided at each end of each beam.At the latter ends of the beams are provided vertical lift screws 35which extend through threaded portions 34 on the beams. The lower endsof the screws 35 engage the skid shoes, and the upper ends are providedwith hand wheels 36 for operating these screws and thereby raising thebeams to the desired positions above the skid shoes.

At the front sides of the grader plate supporting beams are positionedthe grader plates 4|. There is preferably provided a plurality of suchplates, designated 4|", and f in Fig. 1, in each grader plate unit. Theplates of each unit are positioned end to end and extend across thewhole of the machine between the skid shoes. However, the end graderplates are spaced from the skid rails a sufficient distance so that thegrader plates do not engage such rails when the plates are reciprocatedtransversely of the machine.

The plates are concave at their front sides so that, as they are movedalong the road bed which is to be finished, the excess material of theroad bed is rolled over and over forwardly, forcing the larger aggregateor stones to mix with or remain mixed with the asphalt, to provide asmooth and uniform finish. Such construction of the grader plates,causing such rolling action of the material, maintains a substantiallyuniform temperature of the excess material removed, with that of thefinished bed, so that the former is suitable for continuous reuse.

These concave grader plates are provided at their back sides withvertical guide rods 42 which guide the grader plates vertically on andwith respect to the supporting beam 34. The plates are provided at theirupper portions with lugs 4H, the end plates being provided at the endswith double lugs, while the other ends are provided with single lugs, asshown. Between the double lugs of the end plates and between adjacentlugs of the ends of adjacent plates, are located nuts 43, these nutsbeing provided with oppositely extending trunnions which extend througha pair of said lugs. An adjusting screw 44 is rotatably mounted in thesupporting beam 34 for each nut carried by each pair of lugs,

the transverse reciprocation of these screws being rotatable in thebeamQand threaded above the beam. The threaded portion extends throughthe nut 43; thus, the nut 43 is raised as the screw 44 is operated.Thus, it will be seen that the outer ends of the end grader plates, aswell as the adjacent ends of the other plates, may be separatelyadjusted in a vertical direction. To facilitate the adjustment, asmentioned, the trunnions of the nuts 43 are loosely fitted in the lugs MThe upper and lower ends of the guide rods 42 are rigidly secured to thegrader plates 4| by lugs or ear 42 which extend backwardly from theupper and lower portions of the grader plates, there being provided onepair near each end of each plate. In order to facilitate verticaladjustment of one end of a plate relative to the other, the guide rods42 extend loosely through the beam, preferably through slightlyelongated slots therein. However, one end of one guide rod of eachgrader plate is relatively fixed laterally so as fixedly to locate eachgrader plate in a lateral direction and still permit tilting or angularadjustment.

In this manner the lower edges of the grader plates may be adjustedangularly with respect to each other so as to assume or conformsubstantially to the desired camber or crown of the road bed or to thedesired road surface. With such arrangements also, the grader plates maybe raised or lowered for finishing different layers of road material inconformity to the ultimate camber or crown of the road.

The grader plates, in each of the grader plate f units, are reciprocatedtransversely with respect to the machine by a separate crank 5|, one ofwhich is connected to each end of the power unit 3, and by a connectingrod 52 which connects the crank to the grader plate supporting beam 34.

In Figs. 9 and 10 I have shown curved guide rods 6| at the back side ofthe grader plate, (two for each plate) and have shown these guide rodsmounted in the supporting beam 34 in such a manner that, as each graderplate is adjusted transversely, it is forced to assume an adjustedposition in conformity to its curvature. Such adjusting means isprovided by an adjusting screw 62 at each end of the plate, which screwextends through a pivoted nut 63, mounted between lugs 4| at the upperedge of the grader plate. The lower end of the screw 62 has a ball andsocket connection 64 with the upper end of the supporting beam 34. Withthis manner of adjustment, the angularity of the lower portion of thegrader plate with respect to the road bed may be readily changed.

The grader plates and grader plate supporting beam is prevented fromrocking forwardly and backwardly about a horizontal axis, by means ofroller shackles. These shackles consist primarily of U-shaped yokes II,the cross portions of which are reciprocally mounted in a verticaldirection on the frame I, and which are provided with rollers H2 at theends of the legs of the yoke. These rollers are positioned to move intransverse slots It provided in brackets 13 at the rear side of andadjacent each end portion, and intermediate the ends, of the supportingbeam, the slots being arranged in vertically spaced horizontal planes.The slots I3 allow the beams, while the vertically slidable movement ofthe yokes at i allows the supporting beams to be raised and lowered asdesired.

The mixing or agitating and raking means of my machine is locatedbetween the front and rear grading plates or plate units and preferablyimmediately behind the forward ones. This agitating means is preferablycoextensive with the grading plates so as to agitate or stir up all ofthe road material, or the like, in front of the rear grading plates.

The agitating means itself consist preferably of a multiplicity offingers, tangs or prongs 8| which extend outwardly from rod supports 82.There is preferably a pair of closely positioned rod supports at eachside of the machine, the pairs of rods being positioned end to end. Thetangs or prongs extend downwardly and forwardly at an angle ofapproximately 45, and preferably below the level of the lower edges ofthe grading plates. The tangs or prongs on one rod support arepreferably staggered with respect to those on the adjacent rod support.

These rod supports are mounted on slides 83 which are reciprocallymounted, longitudinally with respect to the axis of the machine, on rods34 which are carried by frames 85. These frames have upwardly extendingtubes 86 which slide in tubes 8! on the frame I. The frames may beraised or lowered, that is located vertically, by means of screws 83extending upwardly from the tubes 8%, and provided with nuts 89 at theirupper ends, which serve as stops against the upper ends of the tubes 81.

The slides are reciprocated on the rods by means of a reciprocatingmechanism actuated by the power unit 3. This is effected by a shaft 9|geared to the power unit. At the opposite ends of the shaft 9| areprovided cranks 92 which are connected, by links 93, to the free ends ofarms 94 which are secured to and depend from rock shafts 94 which aremounted on the frame of the carriage At the opposite ends of the rockshafts are provided arms 94", which are longer than the arms 94 Thelower free ends of the arms 94* are connected, by a link 95, to one ofthe rod supports 82, or to a slide 83 which carries the rod supports, orother member 96 mounted on the rod supports 82, as shown. There ispreferably one of such reciprocating devices for each end of each pairof rod supports.

If desired, the arms 94 and 94 may be cornbined into one arm 94, asshown in Fig. 11.

The whole of the agitating and raking mechanism may be raised quicklyfrom its low position, as in the case of the grader plates, by means ofa lever HM mounted in a convenient position on the frame of thecarriage. There may be a separate lever for each set of agitating andraking fingers. The lower portion of the lever is connected, by cablesI02, to each end of the rod supports, the cables extending over pulleysI03. Shifting of the levers |G| into opposite positions will eitherlower or raise the agitating or raking means. Suitable quadrant or othermeans, not shown, may be provided for holding the lever |0| in thedesired shifted position.

The grader plates 4| and supporting beams 34, shown in Figs. 14 and 15,may be reciprocated transversely by means similar to that shown inFig. 1. But the agitating and raking means may be reciprocated,longitudinally of the machine, directly by one of the beams 34. Thisconnection may consist of a bellcrank (one for each pair of finger rodsupports 82), one arm of which is connected by a link H2 to the back ofthe front beam 34, and the other arm of which is connected by a shackle||3 to the link 95, which in turn is connected to the bracket 96mentioned above. Because of the vertical adjustment of the beam, thelink H2 may be connected to the beam by means of a vertical pivot rodH4, so that the beam may be freely raised and lowered with respect tothe link i [2. Thus, a longitudinally reciprocating motion is impartedto the agitating and raking means.

It will be here noted that, instead of a longitudinal reciprocatingmovement of the agitating and raking fingers, they may be readily movedtransversely of the carriage by the use of a straight lever (not shown)instead of the bellcrank lever I l I.

The lateral adjustment or extension of the supporting or traction wheels2 (as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 14), with respect to the skidrails 21 referred to above, and as shown best in Fig. 14, may beeffected by the mounting of the wheels 2 on large axles l2| which may beadjusted longitudinally in bearings l and l of the carriage frame. Thesprockets 8, 9, II, and I? are rigidly secured to and are adjustablewith the respective shafts upon which they are mounted. The sprocket 1,however, is keyed to but slidably mounted on the shaft 6. In order tofix the axles l2! against endwise movement, I have provided collars 522and I23 on the axles, which may be secured to the shafts after thedesired adjustment is made.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction,combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, and certainmodification thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the same, butdesire to include in the scope of my invention, the construction,combination, and arrangement, substantially as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, carriage means, a grader plateunit mounted on the carriage means and comprising a plurality ofseparate grader plates positioned substantially end to end, means foradjusting said unit vertically with respect to the carriage means, andother means at the opposite ends of the plates for adjusting said platesvertically, and also angularly in a substantially vertical plane, forvarying the angular relation of the lower edges of the separate plateswith respect to each other.

2. In a machine of the class described, carriage means, a grader plateunit mounted on the carriage means and comprising a plurality ofseparate grader plates positioned substantially end to end, said platesbeing concave at their front faces, means for adjusting said unitvertically with respect to the carriage means, and other means at theopposite ends of the plates for adjusting said plates vertically andalso angularly in a substantially vertical direction, for varying theangular relation of the lower edges of the separate plates with respectto each other.

3. In a machine of the class described, carriage means, a grader platesupporting beam positioned transversely of the carriage means, means forvertically adjusting the ends of the beam relative to the carriagemeans, a plurality of separate grader plates positioned end to end insubstantial alignment, and means at the opposite ends of the plates forvariously adjusting said plates vertically and also angularly, in asubstantially vertica-l direction, on said supporting beam.

4. In a machine of the class described, carriage means, a grader platesupporting beam positioned transversely of the carriage. means, meansfor vertically adjusting the beam on the carriage means, a plurality ofgrader plates at the front side of said supporting beam, the front facesof said plates being concave vertically, said plates being positionedend to end, and means at the opposite ends of the plates for adjustingsaid plates various distances Vertically, and also angularly, in asubstantially vertical direction, on said beam, for obtaining asubstantially crowned lower edge of the adjacently positioned plates.

5. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, a power unitthereon, a grader plate supporting means at the opposite sides of thecarriage, skid shoes mounted on said supporting means in such a manneras to reciprocate transversely with respect to the carriage, graderplate means, means at the opposite ends of the grader plate means forsupporting the same in various adjusted vertical positions on the shoes,and means connecting the grader plate means to the power unit forreciprocating the former.

6. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, a power unitthereon, skids at the opposite sides of the carriage, skid shoesreciprocally mounted on said skids transversely with respect to thecarriage, grader plate means, means at the opposite ends of the graderplate means for supporting the same in Various adjusted verticalpositions on the shoes, and means connecting the grader plate means tothe power unit for reciprocating the former transversely with respect tothe carriage.

7. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, grader platesupporting means at the opposite sides of the carriage, a grader plateunit comprising a plurality of separate substantially straight graderplates positioned end to end in substantial alignment with each otherand transversely with respect to the carriage, means for verticallyadjusting the grader plate unit relative to the supporting means forsupporting the plates in various vertical positions thereon, and meansfor separately adjusting the adjacent grader plates vertically andrelative to each other for varying the general curvature of the loweredges of the plates with respect to each other.

8. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, skids at theopposite sides of the carriage, skid shoes reciprocally mounted on saidskids transversely with respect to the carriage, a supporting beammounted on the shoes transversely of the machine, means for verticallyadjusting the beam relative to the shoes, a plurality of long graderplates positioned end to end, and means for supporting the opposite endsof each plate in vertically adjusted positions on the beam.

9. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, skids at theopposite sides of the carriage, skid shoes mounted in such a manner asto reciprocate transversely with respect to the carriage, a supportingbeam mounted on the shoes transversely of the carriage, means forvertically adjusting the beam relative to the shoes, a plurality ofgrader plates positioned end to end in front of the beam, and means forsupporting the opposite ends of the plates in vertically adjustedpositions on the beam.

10. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, skids at theopposite sides of the carriage, skid shoes reciprocally mounted on saidskids transversely with respect to the carriage, a supporting beammounted on the shoes transversely of the carriage, means for verticallyadjusting the beam relative to the shoes, a plurality of long graderplates positioned end to end in front of the beam, means for supportingthe opposite ends of each plate in vertically adjusted positions on thebeam, and means for vertically guiding the plates on the beam tomaintain their determined operative positions.

11. In a machine of the class described, a wheeled carriage, a pair offloating frames vertically shiftable thereon, a skid rail at the bottomof each frame for supporting the latter on the same surface on which thewheels of the carriage are adapted to be supported, means on thecarriage for raising the skid rails free of said surface, skid shoesreciprocally mounted on said rails transversely with respect to thecarriage, a supporting beam mounted on the shoes transversely of thecarriage, means for vertically adjusting the beam relative to the shoes,a plurality of long grader plates positioned end to end in front of thebeam, means for supporting the opposite ends of each plate in Verticallyadjusted positions on the beam, and means for vertically guiding theplates on the beam to maintain their determined operative positions.

12. In a machine of the class described, a wheeled carriage, a pair ofskid rails vertically shiftable thereon and adapted to be supported onthe same surface on which the wheels of the carriage are adapted to besupported, manually operated means on the carriage for raising the skidrails free of said surface, skid shoes reciprocally mounted on saidrails transversely with respect'to the carriage, and grader plate meansadjustably supported in a vertical direction at its opposite ends onsaid shoes.

13. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, grader platesupporting means carried at the opposite sides of the carriage, a graderplate unit, comprising a plurality of separate substantially straightgrader plates, reciprocally mounted on the supporting means, said platesbeing positioned end to end in substantial alignment with each other andtransversely with respect to the carriage, means for adjusting adjacentgrader plates vertically with respect to the supporting means and alsovertically relative to each other,

'for varying the angular relation of the plates with respect to eachother, and means on the carriage for longitudinally reciprocating theplates with respect to the carriage.

14. In a machine of the class described, carriage means, a grader platesupporting beam positioned transversely of the carriage means,

means for vertically adjusting the ends of the V beam relative to thecarriage means, a plurality of separate grader plates at the front sideof said supporting beam, the front faces of said plates being concavevertically, and said plates being positioned end to end, means forsupporting said plates to slide on and transversely with respect to thebeam and in a curved path substantially parallel to thevertical'curvatures of the plates,

and means for adjusting the plates in said curved path on saidsupporting means.

15. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, grader platesupporting means vertically shiftable on the carriage, a supporting beamreciprocally mounted on the supporting means transversely with respectto the carriage, means for vertically adjusting the beamrelative to thesupporting means, means for reciprocating the beam transversely of thecarriage, guide and roller means for guiding the transversereciprocation of the beam, the latter means being mounted to slidevertically on the carriage and connected to the back side of the beam soas to allow horizontal reciprocation of the latter, the guide and rollermeans connecting the carriage and beam, the latter means havingVertically spaced rollers to prevent rocking of the beam about ahorizontal axis with respect to the carriage, and a grader plate on thebeam.

16. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, a frame meansvertically shiftable thereon, skid rails at the bottom of the frame, asupporting beam reciprocally mounted on the skid rails transversely withrespect to the carriage, means for vertically adjusting the beamrelative to the skid rails, means for reciprocating the beamtransversely with respect to the carriage, guide and roller means forguiding the transverse reciprocation of the beam relative to thecarriage, the latter means being mounted to slide vertically on thecarriage and connected to the back side of the beam so as toallowhorizontal reciprocation of the latter, the guide and roller meansconnecting the carriage and the beam, the latter means having verticallyspaced rollers to prevent rocking of the beam about a horizontal axiswith respect to the carriage, and a grader plate on the beam.

1'7. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, a frame meansvertically shlI'table thereon, skid rails at the bottom of the framemeans for supporting the latter on the surface supporting the carriage,a supportingbeam reciprocally mounted on the skid rails transverselywith respect to th carriage, means for vertically adjusting the beamrelative to the skid rails, means for reciprocating the beamtransversely with respect to the carriage, guide and roller means forguiding the transverse reciprocation of the beam relative to thecarriage, the latter means being mounted to slide vertically on thecarriag and connected to the back side of the beam so as to allowhorizontal reciprocation of the latter, the

.guide and roller means having vertically spaced :the beam relative tothe shoes, guide and roller means for guiding th transversereciprocation of the beam relative to the frame and to prevent forwardand backward oscillation of the beam, a

, plurality of long grader plates positioned end to end in front of thebeam, means for supporting the opposite ends of each plate in verticallyadjusted positions onthe beam, and meansfor vertically guiding theplates onthe beam, to maintain their determined operative positions.

19. In a machine of the class described, a Wheeled carriage, a pair offloating frames vertically shiftable thereon, a skid rail at the bottomof each frame for supporting the latter on the same surface on which thewheels of the carriage are adapted to be supported, means on thecarriage for raising the skid rails free of said surface, skid shoesreciprocally mounted on said rails transversely with respect to thecarriage, a supporting beam mounted on the shoes transversely of thecarriage, means for vertically adjusting the beam relative to the shoes,guide and roller means for guiding the transverse reciprocation of thebeam relative to the frame and to prevent forward and backwardoscillation of the frame, a plurality of long grader plates positionedend to end in front of the beam, means for supporting the ends of eachplate in vertically adjusted positions on the beam, and means forvertically guiding the plates on th beam to maintain their determinedoperative positions.

20. In a machine of the class described, a frame, axles extendingtransversely of the machine and extensible longitudinally with the outerends thereof beyond the sides of the frame, traction wheels at the outerends of the axles, means for fixing the longitudinal adjustment of thaxles with the wheels at various distances outwardly from the frame, anaxially fixed drive shaft, and sprocket and chain means connecting thedrive shaft to the axles.

21. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, longitudinallyextensible revoluble axles at one side of the carriage, traction wheelsat the outer ends of the axles, means for fixing the longitudinaladjustment of the axles, sprockets fixed on the axles and adjustablelongitudinally therewith, a drive shaft having a drive sprocketlongitudinally adjustable thereon, and flexible drive means connectingthe sprockets.

22. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, grader platesupporting means at the opposite sides of the front and rear portions ofthe carriage, grader plate units at the front and rear portions of thecarriage and reciprocally mounted on the supporting means at said frontand rear portions of the carriage, a power unit on the carriage, meansconnecting the grader plate unitsto the power unit for reciprocating thelatter transversely with respect to the carriage, a plurality of guideslocated between the front and rear grader plate units, means forvertically adjusting said guides, agitators mounted to slide on theguides, said agitators extending normally to a lower level than thegrader plate units, and means connecting the power unit to the agitatorsfor reciprocating the latter on said guides.

23. In a machine of the class described, a wheeled carriage, a powerunit thereon, pairs of floating frames vertically shiftable thereon, onepair at the front and one at the rear end of the machine, a skid rail atthe bottom of each frame for supporting the latter on the same surfaceon which the wheels of the carriage are adapted to be supported, meanson the carriage for separately raising the skid rails at the front andrear of the machine free of said surface, grader plate means mounted onthe front and rear of the machine and supported at each end by one ofsaid skid rails, means connecting the grader plate means to the powerunit for reciprocating the latter transversely with respect to thecarriage, a plurality of guides located between the front and reargrader plate means, means for vertically adjusting the latter, agitatorsmounted to slide on the guides, said agitators extending normally to alower level than the grader plate means, and means connecting the powerunit to the agitators for reciprocating the same on said guides,

24. In a machine of the class described, a wheeled carriage, a powerunit thereon, pairs of floating frames vertically shiftable thereon, onepair at the front and one at the rear end of the machine, supportingmeans at the bottom of each frame for supporting the latter "on the samesurface on which the wheels of the carriage are adapted to be supported,means on the carriage for separately raising the supporting means at thefront and rear of the machine free of said surface, grader plate meansmounted on the front and rear of the machine and supported at each endby one of said supporting means, means f or connecting the grader platemeans to the power unit for reciprocating the latter transversely withrespect to the carriage, a plurality of longitudinally extending guideslocated between the front and rear grader plate means, means forvertically adjusting the latter, agitators extending crosswise of themachine and mounted to slide on the guides longitudinally with respectto the machine, said agitators extending normally to a lower level thanthe grader plate means, and means connecting the power unit to theagitators for reciprocating the same on said guides.

25. In a machine of the class described, a carriage having tractionwheels at its opposite sides, a frame vertically adjustable on thecarriage and provided with flange guide wheels inwardly from saidtraction Wheels, said flange guide wheels being mounted on aXes parallelto the traction wheels and capable of being adjustedfrom positions abovethe traction portions of the traction wheels to positions below thesame.

26. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, a grader platemeans mounted on the carriage, a plurality of longitudinally extendingguides mounted on the carriage and located in front 'of said platemeans, means for vertically adjusting the guides relative to thecarriage, and agitators extending crosswise of the machine and mountedto slide on the guides longitudinally with respect to the machine, saidagitators having downwardly extending fingers.

27. In a machine of the class described, a carriage, grader plate meansmounted on the carriage, means for reciprocating the same transverselyof the carriage, agitators extending crosswise of the machine, 'meansconnecting the agitators to the grader plate means for reciprocating theformer With the latter, and means for raising the agitators and graderplate means with respect to the carriage.

WILLIAM HURST LEWIS.

